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DAVIDNOTONONLOCATION
Y
ou can forget the
showy opulence
and posturing to
be found along the
South of France
in Monte Carlo,
Cannes and St
Tropez; in my book Menton
is far preferable on the Cote
d'Azur. It’s a beautiful town
by the sparkling Med, ringed
by the protective Alpes-
Martime, and with a
discernible Italian feel. That’s
no surprise really, as the town lies
right on the border, and this region,
once the Duchy of Savoy, and ruled
by the Kings of Sardinia (in Turin,
confusingly), only became part of
France in 1860.
On a hot summer’s day I left
Wendy perusing the shops
(dangerous!) and wandered
through the vieille ville looking for
inspiration. I didn’t have to go far...
The Parvis St Michel was a square
with a stunning view over the Baie
de Garavan. The combination of
the baroque architecture of the
Eglise St Michel, the attractive
square, the shuttered windows,
and the coast beyond, was
irresistible. But making something
of it photographically would be
tricky. Looking due east I’d either
be shooting straight into the sun in
the morning, or lose it behind the
buildings late afternoon. A nightshot could work, but I couldn’t see
any evidence of the square being
illuminated. Nope, my only option
was early in the morning, just as
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of the Italian Riviera. And to add a
je ne sais quoi I’d need my very
own supermodel.
Next morning at dawn we were
back. I knew producing this picture
would be a tricky technical
exercise, both behind the camera
and subsequently in post. What
was crucial was to think through
the whole process from shutter
phase to mouse mode before the
camera was touched. The problem I
had to deal with was contrast. How
could I expose for the bright sky
backlit by the rising sun, and the
depths of the shadows in the
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line of the grad would darken the
whole top half of the frame,
buildings included, and besides I’d
have to use my extreme 14mm
wide-angle lens with groovy
bulbous front element. Clearly it
was a job for exposure merging.
We were in luck, as the sky was
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Italianate paving. Despite the
unearthly hour Wendy was primed
and attired in Mediterranean mode- she has a feel for these things.
You’ll be unsurprised to know I
don’t. She was soon ambling from
corner to corner as I shot a few test
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sec gave just the right amount of
blur. As the sun peaked over the
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exposures using auto bracketing
from +2 to -2 stops as Wendy did
her stuff, as she has countless times
from the dunes of the Namib to the
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in the square lit up the warm stoneMenton,
Cote d'Azur
Early morning starts bring photographic
opportunities for David Noton in this
idylic square on the French Riveria
Parvis St Michel, Menton, Cote d'Azur, France. 04:47am. 12 July 2009.
Mrs Wendy Noton walking through
Parvis St Michel at dawn, the Old
Town, Menton, Cote d'AzurLens Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USMExposure 1/8 sec, f/13, ISO100